• USD/JPY flat lines around 159.50 in Monday’s early Asian session. 
• Markets expect the BoJ to leave interest rates unchanged on Tuesday. 
• The FOMC is anticipated to maintain the federal funds rate between 3.50% and 3.75% at its April meeting on Wednesday.

The USD/JPY pair trades on a flat note near 159.50 during the early Asian session on Monday. Traders prefer to wait on the sidelines ahead of the key interest rate decisions from both the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

Markets anticipate the Japanese central bank keeping interest rates steady at 0.75% on Tuesday. While a “hawkish hold” is possible, officials are balancing rising energy-driven inflation against economic uncertainty caused by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, intervention fears could provide some support to the JPY and act as a headwind for the pair. Japanese authorities, including Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, highlighted a “high sense of urgency” regarding speculative and weak-JPY moves driven by Middle East tensions. 

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is expected to maintain the benchmark federal funds rate in the 3.50% to 3.75% range, marking the third consecutive meeting without a change. This meeting may be the final one for Jerome Powell, whose successor, Kevin Warsh, is nearing confirmation.

Traders will take more cues from the press conference on how policymakers are interpreting the impact of higher energy costs and whether this alters their longer-term outlook on interest rates. Any hawkish remarks from the Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers could lift the Greenback against the Japanese Yen (JPY). 

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